The invention relates to a portable horse for use by an artist, and more particularly to a foldable bench which can be transformed from a travel configuration, where wheels and a handle render it portable, to a working or erected configuration where it provides a seat for an artist and a support for the artist""s canvas or drawing board.
Artists and illustrators often need to draw or paint in locations remote from their studios and accordingly must transport their canvas or boards, and paints or drawing materials to such a remote location. Moreover, once they have arrived they are in need of a seat upon which to sit and an easel or other support for their canvas, drawing board or the like. In addition, one can see that the gathering and transport of all such equipment is not a simple task, and accordingly equipment that would facilitate such storage and transport in a convenient manner would be appreciated.
Over the years various solutions to this problem have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,907,360 (1975) discloses an artist""s horse which is collapsible to permit its portable transportation in a collapsed condition in use as a bench and easel in its erected condition. U.S. Pat. No. 4,482,185 (1984) discloses a foldable easel which converts from a compact configuration (where it is portable and can be carried) to an erect configuration where it provides a canvas seat for the artist and an easel to hold a canvas or the like. U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,070 (1999) discloses a wheeled box that is equipped with a pair of baby carriage-type wheels at one end and a handle at the opposite end for pushing or pulling the device. A seat and foldable backrest are carried above the wheeled end of the box, and a hinged folding easel is carried at the other end adjacent the handle. U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,593 (2001) discloses a combination of a chair and easel which folds to a transport configuration and unfolds to an erected configuration for supporting a board or easel in appropriate relationship to a seat for the artist. A pair of adjustable straps allow the device, in its folded configuration, to be transported in a manner similar to that in which a hiker would carry an external frame backpack.
Although these patents have proposed various different solutions to the problem of providing convenience of transportation of supplies and equipment by an artist to a location remote from the artist""s studio, none of them has been totally satisfactory in providing compact secure storage and true ease of portability, and accordingly further solutions to this problem have continued to be sought.
The invention provides a portable artist""s horse which includes a pair of bench sections that are hinged to each other and which each contain storage compartments; they can be folded or unfolded to transform the horse from a working or erected configuration to a compact travel configuration in which the bench sections are juxtaposed with each other at a major surface thereof. At least two rollers carried by one bench section provide portability without lifting, and a foot attached to the other bench section supports the folded artist""s horse in an upright orientation. A latch arrangement secures the two bench sections in its travel configuration by interconnecting a pair of juxtaposed handles that extend from the top of each bench section in the travel configuration and facilitate lifting the horse. An extensible travel handle, attached to the bench section that carries the wheels, facilitates easy transport. In the erected or working configuration, a pair of hinged legs, parts of which double as the lifting handles in the travel configuration, provide stable support for the bench sections in an extended configuration that provides a seat for an artist and ready access to supplies. An extensible easel carried in the storage compartment in the bench section that serves as the seat provides support for a canvas in a convenient location for painting. The insertion of a foot plate into a set of slots provided in the upper surface of the extended bench in combination with the upstanding door of the other storage compartment supports a drawing board in a working orientation. Insertion of the foot plate into another set of slots facilitates transport of a board or a canvas supported upon the portable folded horse.